McLaren MP4-12C to Roll Out 200-mph

Formula One car maker McLaren will enter the commercial market in 2011. Its first offering is the McLaren MP4-12C. The British supercar made its fancy debut surrounded by Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

McLaren MP4-12C

MP4-12C has a 3.8 litre 90 V8 engine with dual variable valve timing that develops 600ps and 600Nm of torque. Featuring a lightweight carbon fiber design, the McLaren MP4-12C has a power to weight ratio of 450ps and 450Nm per tonne. McLaren also claims that when using the launch-control function of the car’s 7-speed Seamless Shift dual-clutch gear box (SSG), the MP4-12C is capable of running a 0-60 mph time of under 3 seconds and a 0-124 mph time of under 10 seconds.

This means it benefits from some serious performance numbers. The McLaren MP4-12C can get from 0 to 200 km/h in less than 10 seconds and to get to 0 km/h again in 5 seconds. The top speed of the McLaren MP4-12C is rated at over 200 mph. While you might have expected carbon ceramic brakes to keep all that power and speed in check, McLaren says its conventional discs actually weigh less.

The MP4-12C is built around an extremely light and rigid carbon fiber tub. But rather than the heavier multi-piece tubs used by its competitors and predecessors, the MP4’s is made from a single piece, weighing a spritely 176 pounds). The body panels are all carbon fiber and composites, making the new McLaren more expensive to build than its competitors and resulting in an expected $265,000 price tag.

The McLaren MP4-12C, modeled on technology used by McLaren’s Formula One team, will go into production next year with 1,000 of the cars expected to roll off the production line in 2011, the firm said.